12 April 2002

Forensic expert flies to war zone

An expert on forensic medicine from the University of Dundee will fly out to the Middle East tomorrow to examine the bodies of Palestinians who have been killed in the recent fighting to try to ascertain details of the terrorist attacks.

Professor Derrick Pounder is part of the Amnesty International team that is going to the West Bank in an attempt to establish facts on the extra-judicial killings that are taking place. The results of their findings will form part of Amnesty International's campaign to halt the killings and establish justice once the terror is over.

The team from the international secretariat of Amnesty International have no guarantee that they will get access to the bodies but their negotiating teams will try to convince the authorities that the forensic experts should be allowed to examine the bodies.

Professor Pounder will arrive in Tel Aviv with the rest of the team on Sunday.